Down for the Count
by Kitskune Miyake
Summary: Jason Todd expected the greatest day of his life. What he got was considerably less. Then again, that seemed to be the theme of his life. Rated for implied violence and slight language.


If you saw the Young Justice preview for Saturday's episode and didn't get a sudden surge of inspiration, you are clearly less tortured than I am. I am literally bursting with ideas and may spontaneously drown in a sea of fanfiction ideas.

Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or Jason Todd.

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_**Bialya**_

_**August 15, 23:50**_

_Ten, nine…_

"Oh my God, we need a medic, stat! God dammit, where's Tula when you need her?"

Voices squabbled around him as his head pounded. His eyes fluttered, not fully open but not yet closed. A warm hand grasped his own bloodstained hand, clutching it gently but firmly. The midnight sky above began to blur.

"Nightwing, where the hell are you?" Artemis radioed from her earpiece. M'gann was too far away, taking the mind link with her. The Team was still wary of technology, especially in such hostile territory as Bialya. "What do you mean 'you can't get the ship out here'! He's slipping, and fast. Oh God, stay awake. Just don't fall asleep!"

_Eight, seven…_

He felt his cape being unfastened. She lifted up his arm, and he let out a whine of pain. "Oh God, I-I can't. I have to do this." From behind the reflective lens, Jason closed his eyes resignedly. He grunted his cooperation, hissing as a large glass shard was pulled from his side; a makeshift compress was pressed against the wound. It was burning cold, and it hurt nearly as much as the hole in his side.

"This is gonna hurt a lot, I'm not gonna lie." Before he could respond, he felt his shoulder being popped back into place. He let out a scream of pain, screwing his eyes shut and tensing slightly. Pain shot up his back, and he relaxed. He was breathing heavily, trying to find solace in his suffering.

_Six, five…_

Strong, warm arms encompassed his broken body, lifting him away like an angel. In his fleeting consciousness, he looked over his shoulder and saw the desert below him. For the first time in his life, he could fly.

Jason was the first to admit that he wasn't a great successor to the first Robin, Dick Grayson. He was considerably less skilled in all ways except for sarcasm, and that did nothing but piss off villains like the Joker, especially on this night. Worst of all was his fear of falling; it crippled the Robin-esque ability to fly through the air. Even though nobody ever said anything, he could feel their disappointment the first time he had to ask Kid Flash to carry him to the mission site so he wouldn't have to swing across the roof tops.

_Four, three…_

Superboy met up with the Bioship, skillfully dodging bullets from the troops on the ground. He was yelling into the earpiece, calling for the Team to abandon the mission. Jason wanted to protest, tell them to leave him on the ship with just one other. It was a near-perfect infiltration mission, up until he saw a familiar face.

He was cocky; he thought nobody would notice if he slipped away to see if it truly was his mother.

It's his fault that the mission was failing so miserably. It's his fault that Dick and Bruce didn't talk much anymore. It's his fault that his mother decided he wasn't worth raising, leaving him at the mercy of the foster system until he finally ran away.

It's always his fault.

_Two…_

He felt the cold air of the Bioship ghost his body as they ripped open his carefully made Robin suit. It was bulletproof, waterproof, and fireproof. It was made to withstand impacts from even getting hit by a car. It was made to protect even the likes of him.

Too bad it couldn't withstand the force of a crowbar.

Or a close-range gunshot.

Or an exploding building.

It was a miracle he was even alive.

_One…_

Just as they started jabbing the needles into him and getting him on life support, he could feel himself slipping away. And he accepted that. He was tired of fighting what seemed to be his natural course. It seemed to be his portion in life that nothing would ever go right for him. No family to nurture him from the start. No skills to get him anywhere except juvie. No friends except for Nightwing, who was nice only out of deference to Batman's will. Nobody to miss him when he died.

It was supposed to be a big day, the greatest day of his life. It was his first mission with the Team ever. The chance to prove he _did_ deserve the Robin legacy. A chance to show that he was worth every atom of space he occupied on earth…

_Zero._

And it was his birthday.

_Happy Birthday, Boy Blunder._

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For the record, I'm not sure if that's his birthday.

Please leave some review. It might inspire more Jason stuff out of me.


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